A Tale of Two Worlds
by Kenzie678
Summary: Percy and Annabeth investigate a series of demigod disappearances and encounter the avengers. The two teams will have to work together to face a common enemy and once again save the world.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Tony

Tony had been in his workshop for the last six hours, hiding from his wonderful, yet angry girlfriend. He had honestly been trying to help her when he had built the laundry folding robot. And the pancake flipping robot before that. Come to think of it he hadn't been extremely successful with most of his domestic machines, something Pepper claimed had come from a lack of ever performing those tasks himself. So when the laundry folding robot had ripped her favourite sweater in half, he had decided to flee the scene before she found out.

That left him in his shop working on a new weapon for his suits. He had been tinkering with it, trying to get the timer just right so it would explode just as it hit his enemy's face. He was so focused that he jumped when a loud noise startled him. The 'avengers alarm' as he had labeled it was blaring from the security system signifying a threat that the team was to respond to.

He grabbed the remote from the workbench and pressed the big red button which activated his suit. He was already up the stairs when the helmet clamped onto his head and he flew up to the elevator. This was the most amusing part of their missions. As not all of the avengers were as gifted as he was in the art of flight, they usually took a quinjet to their battles. When the elevator door dinged open he jumped in to find the Captain already standing in the back corner in his suit. The two rode the elevator down to the basement in a rather anticlimactic 73 seconds of elevator music. When the doors finally slid open the two ran out and up the ramp of the plane. Natasha and Clint were already in the cockpit while Bruce was running optics from the tower. The spies pulled the plane off the ground while Tony strapped in to one of the seats. "So, where are we going this time?" He asked.

"Huge energy surge coming from the mountains in Oregon. Looks like some kind of chemical weapon." Replied Natasha.

He nodded, thinking about the fight ahead. If he were lucky, he might be able to test out his newest creation.

"Well," he said, "sounds like a party to me."

Percy

When he had told Annabeth about their romantic weekend getaway this was really not what he'd had in mind. The two of them had been planning a trip to Europe so Annabeth could admire the architecture. They had been back from Tartarus for six months now and things were slowly getting better. The nightmares were less frequent and they could go longer without seeing each other but his lungs were still in a vice grip every time she was out of his sight. He felt like he could only breathe when she was there, in his arms, and he knew she was safe.

Right now she was most definitely not safe. In fairness neither was he. They had been doing some last minute packing, or rather he had been as Annabeth had been packed for days. She was sitting on his bed, letting her golden curls fall down her back as she smiled at him. He was throwing t-shirts and jeans into a bag with reckless abandon, wanting to leave as soon as they could. When Maggie Spintler, daughter of Hermes knocked on his door he nearly groaned out loud. She informed them that Chiron wanted to see them before they left. The two shared a look, knowing that whatever their mentor could want it couldn't be good.

They had made their way to the big house where Chiron waited at the ping pong table. He had told them of a few disappearances from the Roman camp that he had been notified of. The satyrs had also reported unclaimed demigods going missing, and two of the Camp Half Blood residents hadn't been heard from in weeks. The two of them were only meant to make a brief stop to talk to the families of the missing demigods. That plan had gone out the window when they were unceremoniously blown from the sky. Poor Blackjack had been knocked out by a beam of energy that seemed to come from the mountain below them.

Percy had wrapped his arms around Annabeth as they fell towards the earth. Of all the things in his life to kill him it seemed a bit unfair that he'd fall to his death, although he assumed Zeus would approve. The wind had whipped past his ears making it difficult to hear anything, but he could tell Annabeth was yelling at him. Something about the glow, the mow? "Use the snow seaweed brain!" She hollered in his direction, arms crushing his ribs as they fell quickly through the air.

He focused all his might on the snow on the mountain. He pulled it towards them, making a cushion of sorts to break their fall. He felt the air slow around his head and decided he was either dead or it had worked. When he finally peeled his head off Annabeth's shoulder he laughed out of sheer relief. They were being held on a platform of snow, rather like a cloud in his opinion. By that point they weren't too far from the ground so he lowered them onto the earth below. Annabeth sighed as her feet touched the dirt below.

"What on earth was that?" I exclaimed. I looked around the ground from Blackjack, keeping an eye out for the enemy that had shot us out of the sky.

"I have no idea but I don't think it's anything good." She replied to me. "Percy over here!" She yelled and I ran over to see Blackjack laying on the forest floor.

 _Hey boss. Sorry about the drop out there._

"It's okay buddy, are you hurt?" I asked.

 _Nothing a few donuts can't fix boss. I don't think I'll be able to fly for a while though._

"Stay here, we're going to check out who attacked us." I told him.

Annabeth and I clasped hands and started to trek up towards the mountain where we agreed the beam had come from. The forest was dense and obviously not very populated. We walked for an hour before we came to the base of the mountain. There were no obvious signs of life, human or monster. A small cave opening caught my eye and I pointed it out to Annabeth who nodded silently. We quietly made our way to the entrance where we peered inside. I shook my head in her direction, I couldn't see anything past a few feet. She removed her backpack to search for a flashlight while my mind began to wander. It wasn't like a monster to attack and then hide. They usually didn't have the foresight for that kind of planning. I was running through my list of people who would try to kill me when I heard Annabeth scream.

"Percy duck!" She yelled and I instantly dropped to the ground. I was just in time to see the beam of energy hit the ground next to me, splattering both of us in dirt. I jumped to my feet and drew riptide, moving back to back with Annabeth who had her dagger out. We searched the sky and the trees for the unseen enemy when we heard a distinctly mechanical sound. I felt the wind begin to whip Annabeth's long hair into my face and the two of us searched for the source. The sky darkened suddenly and I had a sinking feeling Zeus had finally come for me when I noticed a large shadow pass over us. When I looked up I was greeted by the sight of a plane over our heads. What the Hades had we gotten into now?


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Natasha

Being a spy pretty much since birth had its advantages. One of those was the fact that Natasha had seen it all. Nothing really surprised her anymore and she prided herself on foreseeing any possible outcome of a situation. Which is why she was thrown when the location they were headed for showed nothing but a large mountain range, a dense forest and two teenagers holding what looked like a wooden kitchen spoon and a toy sword. Their faces were serious and they were watching the plane as though readying themselves for a fight. She heard a snort from her right and looked to see Clint who had apparently also noticed their unique choice of weapons.

"So what do we have here?" Asked Steve, walking up behind her to look out the front window.

"Just a couple of kids by the looks of them." Replied Barton. "Though age doesn't really dictate skill in our line of work"

"Yeah if they did then Cap would be the most dangerous of all of us," laughed Tony. "Compared to him we're still in kindergarten."

Natasha and Steve both rolled their eyes while she worked on powering down the plane that had now landed facing the children. The four avengers grabbed their weapons and lowered the ramp to exit the plane. They decided to try to talk to the kids rather than go in guns blazing but Natasha was still on her guard. There was something about the way the two were surveying the area and holding their mock weapons that told her they were more experienced than they looked. When her feet hit the dirt she took a deep breath and put on her most intimidating stare. She rounded the corner and glared at the teens who surprisingly glared back with just as much vengeance. Natasha tightened her grip on her batons and began walking forward behind the Captain. Steve had his hands up in a gesture of peace but the other three were clearly armed in case the teens decided to try their luck.

"We're here on behalf of S.H.I.E.L.D." he started. "We don't want any trouble, why don't you just tell us how you got here and what kind of weapon made that." He said as he pointed at the scorched ground by the boy's feet.

The two teenagers glanced at each other with a slight look of confusion on their faces. After a moment the girl stepped forward. She was tall, only slightly shorter than the boy next to her and her grey eyes seemed to stare with an intensity that rivaled Natasha. She seemed quite composed and there was not a hint of fear in her eyes, even in the presence of four avengers. There was something else in her eyes that Natasha recognized. It was a pain that she knew too well and she felt a stab of pity for the girl. The pair couldn't be older than twenty and yet she felt they had seen more than most did in a lifetime.

"My name is Annabeth and this is Percy," she said gesturing to the boy next to her. "We were out camping when we heard a noise. It was so loud we thought there had been an explosion or something." She said with Percy nodding along beside her. "When we got to the mountain a blast of, something, flew out of the mountain and almost hit us. We were trying to find out where it came from when you guys flew in." She finished, plastering a look of fear onto her face.

Natasha wasn't buying it though. She could tell they were hiding something. "Camping out here? Isn't it a bit cold for that?" She asked.

The girl started to respond when a bolt of light started barreling towards the group. "Look out!" Called the blond and she jumped down behind a tree as the impact hit the earth. Natasha looked up from her shelter just in time to see another beam coming towards them.

"Into the cave!" Yelled Tony over the comm. She nodded and ran towards the entrance. The teens seemed to have the same idea as they were sprinting towards the mountain. When all six of them were safely inside she rounded on the kids.

"You swear on your life you don't know anything about this?" She asked the boy. He looked her straight in the eye and she marvelled at the colour of his. As green as the sea on a stormy day. He nodded and told her, "I swear to you I have no idea who is behind this. But I intend to find out." She did not see any lie in his eyes. Besides they were in just as much danger from the attack as the avengers had been.

"Okay then," she said. "Let's go."

The group made their way further into the cave with Tony using his reactors as flashlights. The cave was cold and damp but nothing indicated it was a base of any kind. That was until she turned the corner and was met with a large cavern that resembled a lab. Only this was definitely an evil genius type of lab. The walls were lined with cells and the centre of the room contained an old, dirty bench that was covered in dried blood. The place was clearly abandoned but as she looked around she noticed signs that someone had been here recently. There were tools scattered on the floor, a half-eaten sandwich laying on the table and a small cot in the corner still unmade. The worst of her observations was the bones that sat in the corner of many cells. She carefully made her way over to the nearest pile to investigate while the others searched the room.

The bones were small, likely from a child she'd say. She glanced up at the walls and was met by carvings that solidified her theory. There were pictures of flowers and animals plus a tally of what she assumed were the days of imprisonment. Her heart ached. As tough as she was it was always sad when a life was cut short, especially that of an innocent child. She quickly stood and strode out of the cell where she was met with five other faces that reflected what she felt.

"It looks like kids," she told them. They nodded solemnly but she saw the two teens exchange a knowing look. She had almost forgotten about their presence but was suspicious of their calm demeanor. If they had really been camping they should have been crying, screaming, terrified of what they had found. They just looked sad, as though they had known the children whose bones lay on the floor.

"Is there anything here we can use to find who did this?" Asked Steve. She glanced around looking for a computer or any other information. She saw Tony walk over to the small desk and start rifling through the drawers. "I wonder," he started before the cave exploded with noise. Tony had managed to trigger some kind of trap that was now firing bullets at them from every direction.

"Come on!" Steve yelled over the noise. She followed him out, running full speed for the exit when she heard a scream.

"Percy!" She turned around and saw the boy laying on the floor, blood beginning to spread over his chest. The blond girl was attempting to drag him down the corridor but was clearly struggling with the weight. Natasha doubled back and grabbed the boy's other arm and the two pulled him to safety. "We'll take him back to our base, we can help him there." She told the girl who looked less than happy about it but like she had no other choice.

The six of them piled into the quinjet and took off bound for New York. "Banner," she said into her earpiece, "you better prep the medbay we have incoming."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Annabeth

Annabeth sighed quietly as the uncomfortable plastic chair dug into her back. She had been in this room for hours at least, waiting for something to happen. She knew these people were trying to agitate her so she would be more likely to give them information when they finally did interrogate her. Fat chance of that, they didn't know who they were dealing with.

Annabeth didn't mind though, as long as Percy was being looked after she was happy. She did not enjoy handing herself over to a group that she barely knew anything about but she didn't have the skills or the supplies to heal a gunshot wound and she knew it. Annabeth could talk them out of there, the captors just had to give her the chance.

She studied the white walls for what felt like the millionth time. A large glass mirror stared back at her which she assumed was see through on the other side. What kind of people have an interrogation room in their house? It looked clean though, and relatively professional so she wasn't too worried. She'd been in much worse places before and had made it out alive.

A small click interrupted her thoughts and Annabeth looked up to see the red haired woman walk through the door. A blonde man followed her and closed the door shut behind him. The two sat down on the opposite side of the table from her. Annabeth remembered them from the mountain, they were quick and good fighters but she still had my dagger. She assumed she had the mist to thank for them not taking it from her. The two of them stared at her as though that would scare her enough to make her talk. Annabeth glared back with her harshest imitation of her mother when she was angry. This went on for another minute until the woman seemed to give up and try a new tactic.

"So Annabeth," she said. "What organization do you work for?"

This was not what Annabeth had expected to say the least. They had clearly not bought the camping story so she supposed spies would be a logical guess. She shook her head. "We don't work for any organization." Annabeth told them. She decided to stick to the truth as much as possible and anything else she would remain silent on. It wouldn't make her captors very happy but it would buy her time to think up a plan.

"That's a nice ring you've got there," the woman said. Annabeth had subconsciously been twirling her ring around her finger which she immediately stopped. "You and our friend upstairs getting hitched?" Asked the blonde man with an amused look on his face.

"As a matter of fact we are," she replied icily. The ring was one of Annabeth's most cherished possessions, especially thinking of the horrors they had faced to escape Tartarus and actually get married someday.

"Well Tasha you do always say that love is for children and I think these two would definitely qualify," said the man only to be cut off by an elbow to the ribs from the red head. It reminded Annabeth of her and Percy for a moment and she felt her worry return for her fiancee's safety.

"How's he doing?" She asked, not bothering to hide the emotion in her voice. These people already knew he was important to her. The woman's face softened a fraction as she faced Annabeth. "He'll be just fine. He's sleeping right now but once we're done here maybe you can go see him." She said.

Annabeth nodded knowing better than to demand to see him as she wanted to.

"Now," said the red head. The man had called her Tasha. "Why don't you tell us the real reason why we found you in the middle of nowhere armed with nothing but a toy sword and a wooden spoon." She finished raising her eyebrow as if she was questioning not only Annabeth's story but her sanity as well.

Annabeth wracked her brain for a reasonable explanation when suddenly she heard an all to familiar voice behind her and her heart sank. She would not be getting out of this easily.

"Yo! Annie! You're never gonna believe this!" Came the voice of one Leo Valdez. Judging by the looks on the two spies faces and the fact that both were pointing weapons behind her head she guessed that their interview had been interrupted by an iris message. Just great.

She spun in her chair and gave Leo the angriest look she could muster. "Just what was so important that you had to tell me right this second Valdez?" She hissed.

Leo seemed unperturbed by her lack of enthusiasm and carried on without missing a beat. "It's Rachel," he said. "There's been a new prophecy."

Annabeth groaned, not only was she in one sticky situation with the people across the table she also had another prophecy on her hands. Gods she should never try a vacation again.

"Alright Leo I have to take care of something here but I'll iris message camp later and get the details." She conceded, knowing the explanation she was about to give would turn the spies world upside down.

"Later Annie," he said and with a wave of his hand the message was gone.

The pair across the table from her were gaping, mouths hanging open which is something she suspected was a rare occurrence. Annabeth sighed and got into a more comfortable position on her chair. This was going to be a long explanation.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Tony

"Let me get this straight," he said pacing around the tower's kitchen. Once the rest of the avengers minus Thor had moved into the tower this floor became their communal space. It was here that the spies decided to tell them what the girl had revealed about the Greek Gods being real.

The whole thing was driving him crazy. Tony prided himself on knowing many things, a great deal more than most people. The fact that such a large part of the world had been concealed from him for so long was impossible. He refused to believe it.

"We're supposed to listen to some kid we found in the middle of the woods when she tells us monsters are real and her wooden spoon is really a knife?" He said. It certainly sounded crazy enough to him. Then again, Thor was a demigod. Cap and Bruce had superpowers. Was the existence of Greek Deities really that hard to believe?

"I know it's a lot to take in but I think she's telling the truth." Said Natasha from her chair. She and Clint seemed far too shaken for Tony's liking, they seemed to believe what the girl had told them. He ran a hand through his hair, this was going to be a long day.

Pepper

Pepper had only been working for a few hours when she had slipped. She was overworked, overtired and holding way too many files for one person while trying to run up the stairs. Of all the days for elevator maintenance they had to choose the one when she was late to a meeting. It had been unsurprising when she fell and sickening when she heard the telltale crack in her wrist that told her she wouldn't make that meeting after all.

Rather than drive to one of the many hospitals in the city, Pepper decided to go to the tower. They had a full medical floor and considerably better wait times than the other emergency rooms. She had her driver drop her at the door and as she rode the elevator up she glanced at her purple wrist. Luckily there had been no blood but she was fairly sure it was broken. That was just what she needed.

Her heels clacked down the long hallway to the room where the on call nurse would be waiting. She didn't want to trouble Doctor Banner with something so trivial. She was surprised to find the nurse's office empty when she poked her head in. Frowning, she walked further down the corridor until she could see into the large medbay. A boy lay in one of the beds. His thick, dark hair was messy and windswept but his tanned skin showed the muscle of an athlete. His eyes were closed and a heart monitor beeped quietly beside his bed.

Holding his hand was a girl with long blonde ringlets. Pepper could only see her back but she could tell the girl was whispering to the boy in the bed and she smiled. Pepper knocked lightly on the doorframe to announce herself to the couple and the girl spun around with a guilty look on her face.

"I'm so sorry I just had to see that he was alright," she said, tripping quickly over her words. "I know I was supposed to stay upstairs but we already told you everything and I figured you'd all need some time to process so I just-"

Pepper held her hands up trying to calm the girl. "It's okay," she said. "I'm not here to send you anywhere I just wanted to see the nurse." She held up her bruised wrist and the girl nodded.

"Of course," she said. "I think she just went to get Percy some more medication, said she'd be back in a second." The blonde smiled and Pepper smiled back at her. She didn't know where the pair had come from but she trusted that if Tony let them in the tower they weren't dangerous. Pepper sat down opposite the blonde and extended her good arm. "I'm Pepper Potts," she said. The girl shook her hand and smiled. "Annabeth Chase," she replied.

"How exactly did you two end up in our medbay?" Asked Pepper. The girl looked at a loss for words, as if the simple question required a year-long backstory. "Well," began Annabeth, "it all started when I was seven."

From there Annabeth wove a tale that could rival any story book Pepper had read. She spoke of finding out about her heritage, the journey to camp, training, the quests, meeting Percy, nearly dying several times, going through hell and back just to save the world. If Pepper had been any normal person she might have dismissed the story, but alas she had met far too many supernatural people to be surprised by much anymore.

When Annabeth finally finished, telling Pepper about the missing demigods and the new prophecy three hours had gone by. The nurse had come in and set Pepper's wrist in a cast which now hung lightly in a sling around her neck. Percy was dead asleep as he had been since coming to the tower according to the nurse. Pepper marveled at the two teens who had been through so much in their short lives. She didn't know what the avengers were planning to do about the demigods or the new threat but she sincerely hoped they stayed. Natasha was wonderful and one of Pepper's best friends but it was difficult to have a conversation with her about some topics. If Tony ever stepped out of line Tasha's advice was usually to kill or maim him in some way. It had been nice to talk to Annabeth and she found she had taken a liking to the girl.

She was about to suggest they go upstairs to find something for dinner when the elevator dinged and several angry voices floated towards her. She heard Tony first asking Jarvis where exactly the girl was and Steve wondering how she'd gotten out in the first place. When she glanced at Annabeth the look of guilt had returned to her face and she was giving Pepper the 'help me please' eyes.

When the avengers rounded the corner to the medbay Pepper silenced them with one scathing look. "Honestly you lot kidnap children then separate and interrogate them?" She exclaimed. "I've been with Annabeth for hours, you were going to leave her there for that long?"

"We were discussing some new information that's come to light." Said Steve looking slightly guilty.

"About the demigods?" Asked Pepper in return.

Five jaws dropped in her direction as Tony broke the silence. "You know about - But who told - How are you so –" he sputtered and she grinned in response. "Annabeth here has provided me with a detailed explanation which I'm sure she will repeat for you after she has had some dinner." She finished, daring any of them to question her.

Silently they closed their mouths and nodded in turn, heading back to the elevator. Annabeth threw a grin in her direction and kissed Percy on the forehead before following her out of the room and up to the kitchen.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Tony

By the end of the kid's explanation Tony had to admit that he was a believer. As crazy as the idea had seemed at the beginning, the detail in her story was indisputable. Now that he had gotten over his initial shock he was quite excited at the prospect of learning everything he could about the demigod world. He had already pestered Annabeth with a series of questions but new ones kept coming to mind.

"So this prophecy," he began. "It's supposed to tell us how to defeat the energy beam thing?" He asked, popping skittles into his mouth straight from the bag and receiving a glare from Pepper for 'ruining his dinner again.'

"Not necessarily," said Annabeth. "Prophecies are usually very vague and it may not even be about the demigods we found."

That had been another revelation. Annabeth had explained that some demigods had gone missing over the past year and she suspected that was where the bones had come from. Tony had seen a lot in his life but the way the girl talked about her own family dying like it was something that happened every day hit him hard. She had told them about the wars they had fought in, about being kidnapped and watching too many friends die. Their journey through Tartarus sent shivers up his spine although Annabeth didn't go into many details. The haunted look in her eyes had said enough.

"But we can use the, uh" Steve cleared this throat "message thing to talk to your friends and get the prophecy?"

"Yes," replied Annabeth. "In fact we can call right now if you'd like." She said, rummaging around in her backpack for something. She pulled out a large gold coin and walked over to the sink. Tony exchanged confused looks with the others as the girl turned on the sink and shone her light through the water. She threw the coin up and it disappeared into the rainbow. "Oh Iris, Goddess of the rainbow. Accept my offering, show me Leo Valdez at Camp Half Blood."

With that an image appeared of a young boy tinkering with some small gears and a girl sitting beside him appeared. The girl looked up and smiled kindly. "Annabeth! Good to see you're alright. How's Percy doing?"

Annabeth replied to her, a smile spreading across her own face. "He's okay thanks Hazel. We were just wondering what the new prophecy was about?"

"Hey! Those are the other guys I was telling you about Hazel." Said Leo excitedly. He waved at Natasha and Clint and who exchanged amused glances. "The prophecy wasn't exactly a cheery one, but then again when are they ever?" He said. "I'll do my best Rachel impression for you, give you all the full Oracle experience."

Hazel rolled her eyes at Leo as he put his arms forward and closed his eyes, rather like a mummy.

 _Six will go West but five will return_

 _The bones born of knowledge shall endlessly burn_

 _Old foes and new will unite with a force_

 _An unwalked path shall soon be their course_

 _Both mortal and God will fight for their race_

 _A new enemy together they'll face_

 _Deep into darkness they'll once again heed_

 _A mortal's mind clouded with greed_

Leo opened his eyes and made a disgusted face which Tony laughed at. The rest of the group looked rather solemn, each person thinking over the riddle they had just been told. Hazel glanced at Annabeth and the older girl shook her head as if she knew what the Hazel was thinking. "There's no use trying to figure it out before it happens." Said Annabeth. "But I think it's pretty clear that Percy and I are supposed to help you guys with whatever this threat is."

Tony nodded, agreeing with the girl. She had explained to the avengers that her mother was the Goddess of wisdom while Percy's father was God of the sea. He had to admit, having them on the team would probably be useful. He was itching to see them in action after a long day of talking at his kitchen table.

"What do you say we go see if boy toy is awake and then head down to the training floor so you can show us what you've got?" He said in the girl's direction. She nodded and the team climbed off their chairs and headed to the elevator.

"This training floor," said Annabeth. "Does it have a pool by any chance?"

* * *

Percy

Of all the weapons in this world Percy particularly hated guns. Cuts, bruises, even broken bones could be healed for him just by jumping in the nearest pond. Bullet wounds were a whole different ball game though. First, he had to find someone to safely remove the thing before he could use the water to heal himself. Otherwise he'd be stuck with a bullet in him which he though was pretty bad ass but Annabeth insisted couldn't be good for him.

He didn't remember much of the fight at the mountain but if he had to guess he'd put money on getting shot there. The pain in his chest radiated through him and he vowed in that moment to never vacation again.

When he finally pried his eyes open he was met with a blinding white room. It resembled a hospital emergency room but it was cleaner and the other beds were unoccupied. He groaned loudly and was met with an amused chuckle from his left. He knew that laugh.

His eyes focused on Annabeth and he let out a sigh of relief. She seemed no worse for wear from their battle and she was clearly happy to see him awake. She smiled down at him then said something to the group beside her. Through his blurry vision Percy deduced that this was the same group they had met at the mountain with the addition of a dark haired man with glasses and a strawberry blonde woman in a business suit. He could faintly make out the words "pool" and "meal." Meal? That sounded good, he was starving and couldn't remember the last time he had eaten. In fact he wasn't sure what day it was now but he had a feeling he hadn't eaten for quite a while.

"Seaweed brain, look at me." Said Annabeth from above him and he did his best to focus his eyes on her. "We're going to take you to the pool so you can heal."

He nodded absentmindedly as the nurse wheeled his bed out of the white door frame and down a long hallway. For the first time Percy wondered where exactly they had taken him? What kind of hospital had a pool?

The elevator ride was longer than he expected. Judging from the buttons whatever building they were in had nearly 100 floors. The smell of chlorine hit him before the doors opened and he was eager to get in the water. He could hear Annabeth chatting to the group behind him, explaining the healing process and Percy's other powers. Did that mean these people knew about demigods? Maybe they were demigods themselves? They seemed pretty old for that in his opinion. Most half-bloods who survived past 18 retired and live out their lives in New Rome for as long as they could. It seemed unlikely to him that this group would be living in what looked like a very nice hotel and still ward off the monsters that always seemed to find them.

He was distracted from his thoughts when he saw the pool. It was huge, definitely Olympic size. The room around it was much more decadent than your average pool deck but he paid it no mind. All he wanted was to get in the water, the proximity to it was already making him more alert.

Annabeth put her arm around him and helped him stand. The pair slowly made their way to the pool steps which they climbed down. The moment his feet hit the water Percy sighed happily. The pain of his injury began to fade and he felt his strength returning. He gently removed his arm from around Annabeth's shoulders and dove in to the large pool. He swam for a few minutes, revelling in the feeling of the water surrounding him. When he felt that his strength had fully returned he paddled over to the edge and climbed out, completely dry.

He was met with six amazed faces and one warm smile. From the looks on their faces these people were definitely mortals, yet Annabeth seemed to trust them with their heritage and that was enough for Percy. He strode up to the man in front, he had dark hair and a pale complexion. Percy could have sworn he had seen him somewhere before. He extended his hand "Percy Jackson, nice to meet you."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Annabeth

Annabeth gripped her dagger in her hand and circled around Percy, waiting for him to make the next move. They had been fighting for the past ten minutes, showing off their skills to the avengers team. She had to admit working with the avengers would be pretty cool. They didn't get much mortal news at Camp, but every kid in New York knew the superhero team.

Judging by the whispers behind her the team were impressed with their fighting skills. Percy swung riptide and she quickly blocked with her knife. He caught her elbow as it hurdled towards his face and he twisted it behind her back. Annabeth ducked her head and flipped her boyfriend over her shoulder where he landed hard on his back. She felt worry momentarily over his recently healed injury but he jumped to his feet quickly enough. She anticipated his next move based on the grin that spread across his face. She hadn't even noticed the water bottle in the corner before it burst open and a stream of liquid came flying towards her.

Annabeth ducked quickly and swept out Percy's feet from under him just as the water knocked her to the floor. The couple laughed as Percy offered her a hand to help her up. They turned to the others who were giving them impressed looks.

"Well I don't know too much about this big bad evil guy but with these two plus our team I like our chances." Said Tony. Natasha rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest.

"So what do we know about this threat?" She asked. "Who would want to kill a bunch of demigods?"

Annabeth looked at Percy and they both laughed. "Honestly I think the list of who doesn't want us dead would be shorter."

"The prophecy did mention something about a mortal's greed so maybe this weapon is man-made." Said Bruce. Annabeth nodded, she didn't like to read too much in to prophecies. Especially the part about the bones born or knowledge burning for all eternity. That part didn't exactly sound great for her.

"Based on what you've told us the demigods went missing in San Francisco first, then two from Atlanta, one from Charlotte and now three from New York. If we cross reference people who were in those cities during the disappearances we might be able to narrow it down." Said Tony.

"Look at you, actually paying attention during a briefing." Said Clint grinning. "Still, not a bad idea and pretty much the only lead we've got." He said.

"Why don't you boys do that and then we'll all get some rest. I think everyone's had a long day." Said Pepper, turning to Percy and Annabeth. "You two come with me and we'll find you a room."

"You're giving them a room together? They're like twelve!" Said Tony indignantly.

Pepper rolled her eyes at her boyfriend. "Don't listen to him." She said, smiling.

Percy laughed and grabbed Annabeth's hand as the group made their way to the elevator. She was relieved that Pepper had given them a room together. Ever since they had come back from Tartarus nightmares had haunted both of them. The image of Percy dying in her arms still made her feel sick when she thought of it and the only thing that helped was holding him in her arms. She would rest her head against his chest and listen to his heart beat to convince herself that he was there, with her, alive.

"I've been meaning to ask," said Percy beside her, "how did you decide to tell them about all of this?"

She smiled lightly, "Leo didn't really give me a choice. Decided it was an opportune time to Iris message me when I was being interrogated."

Annabeth heard a smack from behind her and turn to see Tony rubbing the back of his head. "You interrogated her?" Asked Pepper incredulously. "They're just kids Tony what did you think they were planning?"

"Hey, hey, I don't know! They could have been hardened criminals for all I knew!" Tony replied while shielding his head from any further assaults. "We found them in the middle of the woods, you've got to admit that's a little suspicious."

Pepper sighed agitatedly, but luckily for Tony the elevator doors opened and the group exited. Percy and Annabeth snickered quietly but were sure to present straight faces when Tony's head swung around in their direction.

* * *

 _The stone wall was cold against his back. He could hear the drip of water breaking the eerie silence of the cavern that they were held in now. They had been moved when the doctor got an alert from the security system. Something about a flying horse then a lot of curses that he hadn't quite made out. The gas had knocked him out moments later and now he was waking in a different cave. The set up was similar to the last and he briefly wondered how many caves this guy had?_

 _The soft drip, drip, drip was accompanied by a groan from his right. The cavern was too dark for him to make out which demigod it was but he was glad that he was not alone here. Not for the first time he wondered how much longer he would last. He would estimate he'd been with the doctor for months, maybe even a year. He was sure that they were not in Atlanta anymore as the cold air bit his exposed skin. The doctor moved them all over the place, but the half-bloods were usually unconscious for most of the travelling. Just as well, he got carsick._

 _The familiar sound of boots on the stone floor greeted him as the doctor made his way to the front of his cell. He glared up through the darkness as though the man above would be struck down from pure hatred. What scared him the most was the fact that he didn't know the information the doctor was searching for, and the moment the man discovered this he would be as good as dead. In fact he was fairly sure none of the demigods knew where to find the object the doctor searched for, it had only ever been heard of as a myth._

 _He hoped to the Gods that it was only a myth. If the doctor got his hands on that type of weapon, the entire race of demigods may be doomed._

Percy

Percy awoke with a start, panting as he sat up and rubbed his eyes. Demigod dreams were nothing new to him but this was a special case. Usually he watched the scenes from the outside, an observer, but not tonight. In his dream he felt as though he was in another's mind, stuck in a cave with someone called 'the doctor.' The boy's thoughts had been dark to say the least and the dream was not settling any of Percy's fears about the prophecy Annabeth had recited for him.

Speaking of, Annabeth had been woken by his heavy breathing and sat up to rub his back in soothing circles.

"Was it the same dream as usual?" She asked kindly.

"No," Percy responded. "It was different, I think I was seeing the missing demigods." He threw back the covers and started to pace back and forth. Annabeth moved to sit at the edge of the bed, all thoughts of sleep gone.

"It was like I was there, but I wasn't seeing them, I was one of them." He said, running a hand through his mussed hair.

Her eyebrows contracted as she stared at him. "Your dream was from another person's perspective?" She asked. Percy nodded absentmindedly, thinking of what the boy had said. Said? Thought was more accurate he supposed. Either way the result was not good.

"The lair we were at," he began, "it was just one of many. He's already moved them to another cave and I think he's torturing them for some sort of information." He said, still pacing quickly.

"Information?" She asked. "Like what?"

"He wants some sort of weapon," responded Percy. "But the demigods don't know where it is. I think it's from some sort of myth."

Annabeth nodded looking solemn. He felt bad as he noticed how tired she looked. Percy realized she would have stayed up all night with him when he was in the medbay and now he had interrupted her slumber again.

"There's one more thing," he said slowly, as if delaying the news would make it easier to bare. "This weapon can supposedly destroy the entire demigod race."

To his surprise Annabeth laughed. "Oh, so just demigods? That's not so bad. Usually it's the entire world we're defending." He paused to take in what she had said then burst out laughing with her. He was so lucky to have his girlfriend, somehow she always managed to make things better. He smiled and bent down to kiss her. "You know how much I love you?" He asked. She shook her head playfully. "More than anything." He replied.

She smiled up at him then turned her head to check the clock. "It's almost morning," she said. "What do you say we go find something for breakfast."

Percy nodded enthusiastically, suddenly very hungry. Annabeth laughed and got up to grab his hand. The two walked towards the kitchen and Percy contemplated his dream. No matter what they were facing he was very glad to have his girlfriend by his side.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Natasha

Natasha had always felt as though danger followed her everywhere she went. From the time she was six she had always had to look over her shoulder to stay alive. Hearing from the demigods did give her an appreciation for the fact that although she was usually in constant danger, nobody had ever told her outright that she was going to die.

These prophecies really did more harm than good in her opinion. The only good to come out of the one she'd heard was that they could identify their guy as a mortal. It felt odd to use that word. She'd lived with superheroes for the past year and now the demigods had joined but it still didn't feel right to refer to herself as a mortal, as if other races existed.

When Percy had told the group about his dream over breakfast her first thought had been transportation. Assuming this 'doctor' was working alone he would have to sedate multiple demigods then somehow transport them all the way across the country with nobody being the wiser. She couldn't quite picture him driving a minivan with a pile of sleeping kids in the trunk and not attracting any attention.

As he went on she felt a pang of sadness for these children. From what Annabeth had explained the missing demigods ranged from seven to fifteen years old so far. It seemed he was taking older kids as time went on, they were more likely to have the information he was looking for. Still fifteen was too young to be tortured, especially if they were 'unclaimed' as some were. She gathered that unclaimed meant their Godly parent had forgotten about them or hadn't decided if they were worth their time yet. Those kids didn't always end up at a Camp like Percy and Annabeth had, they didn't have the training necessary to withstand torture.

Percy had also told them that the boy whose mind he was in didn't know the information the doctor was seeking. That was both good and bad for them. If the demigods really didn't know what he was looking for then this weapon was still out of his reach, giving them more time to come up with a plan. It was tragic however that the kids were being kidnapped and killed over information they didn't even have.

Percy and Annabeth spent the rest of the meal brainstorming ideas for what the weapon might be. Apparently it was some sort of mythical object that no one knew actually existed. Times like these made me miss the days of S.H.I.E.L.D. when I only had to deal with humans, guns and the occasional bomb. Clint seemed to be thinking along the same lines as he said to the group, "can't we just shoot the guy and get it over with? Why do we have to find this weapon in the first place?"

Percy looked up from his conversation with Annabeth and seemed to think on Clint's comment for a moment.

"That's," he started slowly, "actually a good point. We don't have any use for this weapon. We don't even know for sure that it exists. If it really can defeat all demigods shouldn't we leave it where it is?" He turned to his girlfriend directing his questions at her. Something like this would normally make Natasha smirk as the girl clearly wore the pants in their relationship., but his gaze was so loving that she had to smile. Those two may be young but they were clearly quite serious. She thought back to her conversation with Annabeth in the interrogation room and remembered the two were getting married. Now that she had seen them together she couldn't say that she disapproved.

Natasha's thoughts were broken by Barton elbowing her in the ribs. She glared at him and tried to find out what she'd missed but when she looked up at the group everyone was staring at her. She had clearly been asked for an opinion on something but she had no idea what. "Can you repeat the question please?" She asked in her most indifferent tone.

"What's wrong Red? Off in lala land?" Tony asked with a laugh. She silenced him with her best glare and he repeated their conversation for her.

"Uhh, we were just asking you what you thought about splitting up for some recon missions?" Tony said. "Now that Jarvis has the results of the search we've got a few guys we could look into."

She nodded. "Fine with me, as long as I'm not stuck with you." She said to Tony, smiling sweetly.

He put a hand over his heart, "you wound me Red." She smirked.

"Alright why don't I go with you two," said Steve gesturing at Clint and Natasha, "and Stark can go with Percy and Annabeth." Everyone nodded, satisfied with the plan.

"We have 17 possible suspects, most of which are still in the New York area so it shouldn't take too long if we split them up." Said Bruce from his spot at the other end of the table.

"Alright kiddies, suit up!" Said Tony. "It's time for you to see how the professionals get it done."

* * *

Percy

Percy had been on several quests in his life and not one of them could be compared to what he was doing today. First off Tony had insisted on transporting them by grabbing one demigod under each arm and blasting them to their next location. If Percy hadn't liked flying before he absolutely despised it now.

The first six men they'd visited had been dead ends. None of them had any scientific background whatsoever and all of them had answered their doors. He had figured that doctor evil wouldn't have had time to go from the cave all the way back to Brooklyn in the span of few hours but he wouldn't rule anyone out because of that. The reason he'd ruled out the first six was that they were all wrong. The first was too old to have carried the demigods anywhere, the second had been on an RV trip with his wife the entire time and would never have had a chance to kidnap the missing demigods. The third and fourth barely had the money for gas, let alone caves or torturing supplies. The fifth they had found at a grocery store where he had been working since six that morning when Percy had still been dreaming. By the sixth man he was barely listening, nothing they had encountered had been remotely dangerous. When they struck out again he audibly groaned, he was getting very frustrated.

When the seventh man didn't answer his door Percy's heart rate began to pick up. Had they finally found the one they were looking for? The apartment building was dirty, and that was coming from Percy. He was sure Annabeth was dying inside at all the grime and dust. They knocked on doors, probing the man's neighbours for information. His name was Chad Sampson and according to most of the building he lived alone and rarely spoke to anyone. He had worked at the NSA as a low-level data processer but nobody had seen him go in to work in months. Actually no one could recall seeing him at all which increased Percy's suspicion that this was their guy.

"Why don't we check out his work and see if he's been in at all recently?" Said Annabeth as they walked out of the building into the bright sun. Percy shielded his eyes with his hand as they made their way to where Tony was waiting for them. They hadn't wanted to attract suspicion, and Tony in his full Iron Man suit did not blend well. They rounded the corner and made their way to a small garden shed. Annabeth slid the door open and revealed Tony who was in the middle of patching up the back wall. "What? I was bored." He said at the incredulous looks of the two teens.

Shaking her head Annabeth told him about what they had discovered as well as their plan to check out Sampson's office. Tony grinned as we grabbed the two teens under his arms and blasted into the sky.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Natasha

The group reunited that evening to put together what each team had found out. So far this Chad Sampson was their best suspect. He had been fired from his job at the NSA about a year ago after an incident involving his daughter. Usually Natasha frowned upon nosy coworkers but one in particular had been very helpful. A mousy woman by the name of Shirley told Annabeth all about how Chad had discovered a long lost daughter about a year before he got fired. She had overheard phone calls and fights between the father and daughter about something dangerous that was following her. "It was all very odd," she had said "but then again he wasn't the most normal guy to begin with." Annabeth and Percy had explained the process of growing up as a demigod, how the monsters hunted you down and mortal family could get caught in the crossfire. Everyone seemed to agree that this Sampson guy was definitely involved.

The next step was finding him as he hadn't been to his apartment in what looked like months. Jarvis was searching through any property he owned to try to narrow down a location. "He needs somewhere big and isolated," said Percy from across the table. Natasha took the potatoes from Bruce and scooped some on to her plate as she thought. She had to pause slightly out of alarm as she looked at Percy's plate which was piled so high with food he could feed the whole team. She raised an eyebrow and shot him a questioning look. The kid just grinned and stated that he was hungry before shoveling some carrots into his mouth.

Annabeth rolled her eyes from beside him but Natasha could tell that she wasn't really irritated. Those two made a good pair she had to admit, even though the idea of love and soul mates had always made her laugh. Tony and Bruce started to go over plans for their latest stun gun, not wanting to use regular weapons on a mortal if they didn't have to. The atmosphere was quite peaceful and happy, something that was too rare in their lives. Natasha sat back, taking it all in before something caught her eye behind the demigods. If she hadn't seen one before, she would have thought she was going crazy.

"Annabeth! Percy!" Came a voice from behind the pair. Their heads whipped around and they met the eyes of a boy no older than ten. He had golden hair that came down to his ears and silver eyes that reminded Natasha of the girl across the table.

"Simon," said Annabeth, clearly surprised that this kid was calling her. Or Iris messaging her she should say. "What's wrong? I thought you were on a quest? Where are you?" Annabeth asked in quick succession.

"I am on a quest! I was looking for some missing demigods in New York." Said the boy, Simon. "The monsters are getting closer. I can't reach anyone else and I could really use some back up!" He said looking desperately at his sister. Natasha took her eyes off the boy for a moment and looked at where he was. It was dark, not so different from the cave they had seen yesterday. The walls were stone and the kid's face was covered in dirt. She wondered for a moment if this might be a trap for the demigods sitting in front of her.

"Where are you?" Asked Percy, looking concerned for the boy.

"I'm in a cave where I think they were kept. They're gone now but there could still be a clue as to where they went afterwards." Said Simon.

Percy and Annabeth shared a look, seemingly having a wordless conversation. After a few minutes they turned back to the rest of the avengers. "We want to go check this out, only come if you want to. Monsters are a whole different ball game that you guys don't have any experience with." Said Percy, looking at each avenger in turn as he spoke.

"Kid do you know who you're talking to." Said Tony indignantly. "We're the avengers, we eat monsters for breakfast." The rest of the team nodded, agreeing to go with the demigods.

"Alright then, Simon we're coming to you." Said Percy.

After Simon gave them the coordinates for his location the team suited up and headed down to the jet. Natasha got behind the wheel and smirked at Clint next to her. Aside from the new celestial bronze weapons that Tony had prepared for them this felt like any other mission. Especially when Tony and Steve started arguing about who should go in first to case out the cave. Tony argued that his arc reactor would light the cavern and allow him to see better. Steve countered that with his enhanced vision and hearing which would let him sense the monsters before Tony could. Their bickering when on for the duration of the plane ride, making it seem much longer than the 20 minutes it took.

As the group stepped out of the plane Annabeth suggested she go in first as she had the most experience with monsters and was unlikely to scare her brother into attacking. Her logic won out but neither Tony nor Steve seemed happy about it. As they crept closer to the cave entrance Natasha noticed a familiar smell. Copper with a hint of sweetness. She knew too well that it was blood.

Annabeth lead the team down a long hallway that didn't seem anything beyond a regular cave. Condensation dripped from the ceiling, punctuating their quiet steps with the odd drop. When they reached the end of the tunnel Annabeth poked her head slowly into the next room. She turned back to them and gravely nodded before walking in.

When Natasha entered the cavern her face dropped into a frown. It was similar to the last one they had been to with a bloody table in the centre and cells lining the walls. "Stark could we get some light in here?" She asked as he felt her way around to the wall. Instantly the cave was lit up with the blue tinted light from Tony's blaster. A quick glance around told Natasha that nobody was there apart from the team. Not even Annabeth's brother who had called them there. She got a sinking feeling in her stomach as she wondered once again if this may have been a trap. Her suspicions were confirmed when Percy's frantic voice called out to the rest of them.

"Where's Annabeth?"

* * *

Annabeth

Annabeth walked stealthily along the cave's edge, keeping her hand on the wall for balance. She had a bad feeling about this place and was determined to find her brother then get out of there. Simon was as smart as they came in terms of books but his real-world skills could use some work. She felt instantly guilty at the thought of him being in here all alone and vowed to work on some fighting skills with him before his next quest.

Annabeth was so distracted by her guilt she didn't realize the wall had ended before her hand lost its support and she tripped forwards. Being as agile as she was she quickly straightened up and looked to her left. She could barely see as it was but there was the clear outline of another room. She thought about calling to Percy to come with her but he was much further back along the wall and the pressing need to get to her brother overcame her better judgement. She stepped carefully into the darkness and tried to control her breathing.

After Tartarus anything this dark put her on edge. She tried to focus on the cave smell but all she could sense was blood which didn't help her. She closed her eyes and took deep breaths through her nose, determined to keep going no matter how scared she felt. She wanted Percy in her arms, telling her she was safe but she couldn't rely on that forever. She was strong, she was a daughter of Athena and she could do this.

Annabeth kept putting one foot in front of the other when she heard a noise that made her stop. It sounded like breathing and it was very close to her.

"Simon?" She said tentatively. "Is that you?"

No response but the sound got closer to her. Just as she reached down to pull out her dagger she was struck in the forehead with something heavy. Annabeth waited to hit the cold floor of the cave but it never came. Instead a pair of arms caught her under her shoulders and dragged her further into the darkness. She begged for her eyes to stay open and weakly thrust her elbow back towards her attacker. They stopped walking and rustled her around for a moment before Annabeth felt a rag on her face and smelled the sickly sweet scent of chloroform.

She was out before she could say Styx.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Percy

Percy paced across the cavern once again, trying to clear the panic from his mind. Annabeth had been missing for around half an hour and they still had no idea where she could have gone. The team had checked the cave walls and floor no fewer than six times but it seemed as though she had just vanished into thin air. Percy felt his chest constricting and tried very hard to focus on breathing.

Ever since their trip through hell Percy had been anxious to leave Annabeth's side and now she was gone and he had never felt more alone. He wished that their roles had been reversed, if she were in his position he was sure she'd have a plan by now. The most likely scenario was that this was some kind of trap and she had been taken. How that had happened he didn't know but right know all he cared about was getting her back.

"Hey kid, look over here I think I found something," said Clint from the far wall. Percy's head whipped towards him and he began to run over to the archer. The rest of the team followed him at a more moderate pace until they were all gathered around a small section of stone. Clint pointed out the cracks along the wall that extended all the way from the floor to the ceiling, forming an archway through the wall. It seemed as though there was a hidden door in the cave which Annabeth could have gone through.

Everyone stood back as Tony blasted through the stone as carefully as he could. When the dust had settled on the floor Percy leaped over the stone into the small cavern. Tony lit the way as the team climbed through the narrow hall. Percy heard Clint curse as a large drop of water fell down his back. "Stop," said Natasha from behind him and Percy halted his steps turning to face her.

"Do you smell that?" Natasha asked the group. Percy focused on the smells in the cave and identified the metallic scent of blood as well as a sweet smell that was vaguely familiar.

"Chloroform," said Steve sounding surprised.

Percy's heart sank. Any hope he had that Annabeth had simply wandered off was crushed and he felt it weigh on his chest. He took a deep breath and turned back to the others.

"Whoever took her must have gone this way," said Steve pointing further down the tunnel into the darkness. Percy nodded absentmindedly, it was true that there was no other way out aside from the way they had come. With the avengers scouring the other room there was no possibility they would have escaped unnoticed.

The group began walking again, but faster this time. They were fueled by the thoughts of what could be happening to their friend at that very moment. After a few minutes the path got too narrow for Tony and Steve to come through in their suits. Percy and the two spies pressed forward into the darkness until the cave was so small they were squeezing through sideways. Percy was pondering how exactly someone got an unconscious body down there when his foot missed the cave floor and plunged downward causing him to fall. He desperately grabbed onto slippery stone walls and managed to stop his descent.

"What happened?" Asked Natasha in a whisper, stealth was not strictly necessary now though. Anyone down there would have heard Percy cry out and his tumble down the stone.

"I think there's a hole here, in the ground." Percy replied, carefully replacing his right foot on the cave floor.

He knelt down which took quite a bit of maneuvering, and suddenly Percy was glad nobody could see him struggle. He reached blindly downwards and was met with nothing as his hand strayed into the dark pit. He briefly wondered if a rope would be better but his desire to see Annabeth again took over and he promptly jumped into what he presumed was the hole, waiting to hit the bottom.

Percy let out a sigh of relief when his feet hit the ground not ten feet below. He stumbled and put his hands out, expecting to find more stone but instead hitting dirt. "It's not a bad drop," he said up to Natasha and Clint. "Looks like someone's dug this out though, it's not part of the cave." He said as he began to feel his way around for a wall.

"Hang on," said Clint from above him. "Comms aren't working down here, I'll go back and tell Tony and Steve we're going down. Percy nodded absentmindedly as he walked blindly around, arms outstretched like a mummy. He heard the soft thump of Natasha landing on the lower level, followed by her footsteps as she searched in the other direction. Just as Percy was getting frustrated by the lack of light his head smacked into something. Hands flying to the throbbing spot on his forehead he gingerly extended an arm to feel for a wall, but there was nothing. As he raised his hand higher he found the ceiling of the cavern and moved his fingers along it. He deduced that this was an archway, most likely leading down a hallway but he couldn't be sure. He turned over his shoulder to tell Natasha what he'd found when another, much louder thump signified the arrival of Clint.

The new arrival illuminated the cavern with what looked like a miniature flashlight that Tony had apparently made during the 20 minutes they had been gone. Percy thanked the Gods for it and directed the light toward the archway he had found. As Clint moved the beam towards it Percy's heart sank. Yes he had found a path but it was one of many. In fact the whole cavern was surrounded by archways that lead into dark hallways. They would never know which one Annabeth had been taken down. Percy let out a loud growl of frustration and Natasha quickly shushed him. He gave her an incredulous look, surely he was allowed to express his anger at the situation.

Natasha shook her head and put a finger to her lips, attempting to silence him once again. "Maybe we can hear her down one of the tunnels," she said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. With Percy's hope now renewed the three spread out in silence, listening for any sounds of movement down each path. Percy's heart skipped a beat when he heard the distinct sound of stone cracking. The noise however had come from above them and he turned his head to the ceiling just in time to her Tony's distinct voice shout "incoming!"

* * *

Annabeth

Annabeth had always considered herself a pretty tolerant person but right now she was angry. She had been awoken from a lovely dream where she and Percy had been sipping umbrella drinks on an Italian terrace. What woke her was the sound of her name, someone was repeating it over and over like a mantra. What she noticed first when she woke was the cold. She was laying on something hard and damp, likely stone her mind supplied. She decided that whoever had woken her was in for some form of ancient torture and dragged her eyelids open to see who the lucky recipient was.

She was very surprised to look into the familiar face of her brother Simon. The moment she saw him everything came back to her. The missing demigods, exploring the cave, getting knocked out. She sat up quickly and was momentarily dizzy as she got her bearings. She was indeed on a stone floor, but it wasn't like the one in the cave above. This floor had tiles, ancient ones by the looks of them. They were dark grey and had distinct carvings of ancient Greek on them. _And so the powerless shall rise and the children of divinity will pay the ultimate price,_ she read and the room became even colder if possible.

"Simon, where are we? Are you okay?" She asked her brother as she took in more of his appearance. Although never as strong or athletic as some of the other demigods, Simon had always looked healthy. Now he had a grey tinge to his skin and he was covered in cuts and bruises. It was his eyes that really got her though, they seemed more broken than she had ever seen them. Not even the war had him looking so defeated.

"We're in some kind of cave," said Simon. "At first I thought maybe it was part of the Labyrinth but now I'm thinking it's something from the times when the Gods first came to North America. If you read the lettering on the floor it talks about how 'demigods must fall' and 'the humans will rise above them' and that sort of thing." He said casually, as though this was something that he experienced every day. Annabeth felt a brief moment of pride at how calmly her little brother was handling the situation.

"Who's behind this?" She asked. "What do they want? What," she paused dreading to ask the next question. "What did they do to you?"

"You remember that kid Grover was after near San Francisco? The little girl who had taken on three monsters all on her own?" Asked Simon. Annabeth nodded, recalling Grover telling her about it one day over breakfast. "Well," said Simon, "from what I gathered the guy who took us is her dad." Annabeth frowned, the man who wanted to destroy all demigods had a half-blooded child?

"Apparently she was with him at work one day when a hellhound found her," said Simon sadly. "The thing tore up the entire office and terrorized the workers, the kid fought it as hard as she could and eventually it left but there wasn't much left of her Dad's workplace. The mist made it seem like she had destroyed everything and her Dad got fired over it. I guess he can really hold a grudge." Simon finished with a frown gracing his face. Annabeth nodded silently, thinking of her own family and how long it had taken them to get over the whole dangerous demigod business.

"So what he loses his job and decides to go on a kidnapping spree?" She asked, still confused on how their presence would supposedly help the man.

Simon shook his head, "he's after some old weapon that can apparently drain a demigod of their powers. I've never read about it before so I wasn't sure it even existed let alone knowing where to find it. That's why he's taking so many of us, nobody's had any useful information so far." He said sadly, evidently thinking of the previous demigods who weren't with them anymore.

Annabeth realized she had barely seen the other demigods in the cavern. It was too dark to make out their faces from her distance but she could distinctly see three other outlines in the cells across from her. She turned to ask her brother who they were when a large pair of boots blocked her sightline. Her head snapped up to see the face of her attacker standing just on the other side of her cell door.

She leapt to her feet ignoring the light headedness it brought her and stared defiantly into his face. Whether or not he hurt her, she refused to show him fear. As she took in the man in front of her she was decidedly unimpressed. He was no more physically intimidating than Simon and she could see in his expression that he was weary of her, even if he tried to hide it. She thought about slamming her palm into his nose right then and there but decided it would be wiser to let him unlock her cell door first.

"Trying to figure a way out of this one girl?" He said, she even hated his slimy voice. "I don't care whose brat you are, there's nobody who can outwit me." He said with a smile as he pulled what looked like a tranquilizer gun from his pocket. Annabeth whipped her head left and right to look for anything to shield her but the cramped cell had nothing but stone walls and iron bars. Even in her brief panic she registered that he must have installed the bars himself as they were clearly more modern than the floor of the cavern. Those were her last thoughts before she felt the prick of the darts on her shoulder and neck and felt herself being dragged back into an uneasy slumber.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Tony

Tony would readily admit that his ideas weren't always safe, or smart, and some were definitely insane. This one could fall into all three categories plus a few more. He wasn't usually patient in meetings where he had a comfortable spinning chair to entertain him and he was even less patient when he had to wait in a cold, dark cave in the middle of nowhere with Captain Spangles pacing the floor away. So it really wasn't his fault that he blasted through the floor, he thought of it more like excavation anyways.

The biggest surprise had been Steve's instant agreement that they should remove the rock that was blocking their path. Must have been his hero complex kicking in, the guy couldn't stay on the sidelines if he was frozen there. However, in moments like these when Tony was falling through the ceiling along with a few thousand pounds of rock he wondered if maybe there was something to this safety business. He should really check it out when they got home.

He and the Cap hit the ground loudly, along with the sound of stone hitting dirt that surrounded them. Once the dust settled and he could see again Tony pushed himself up and started making his way over to the group of very pissed off avengers in the corner. The super spies and water-boy all raised their eyebrows at him but he just grinned in response, pulling the Captain up by the arm. "Well kiddies, did you miss us?" He asked.

Natasha rolled her eyes dramatically in his direction as Tony and Steve took in the cavern they had dropped in to. Tony swore under his breath as he saw the paths leading in all directions, making it near impossible to know where Annabeth had been taken. After a few tries the group counted 14 doors, in the end they had to have Clint stand in front of the first door as they kept losing track. With 14 paths and only five avengers there was no way they could cover all the routes. Natasha and Percy were in favour of splitting up while Steve insisted that the group should stay together in case they found something dangerous.

"Arguing isn't getting us anywhere we need to find her!" Yelled Percy, clearly upset at the current predicament. Tried as he might there was no power he possessed that could help them find his missing girlfriend. Tony wracked his brain for any heat sensitive tech that he had in his suit, maybe they could make some sort of thermal camera. He went to voice his idea when a distinct scream pierced the relative silence of the cavern. It was muffled, clearly from a long way away but it spurred the group into motion. The noise had come from Tony's left side but he couldn't be sure exactly which tunnel.

"You two," said Steve pointing at Natasha and Clint, "take this tunnel on the left. "Tony and Percy take the one on the right," he said gesturing to one of the identical doorways. "I'll go down the middle. If anyone finds anything shout your names so we'll know which one to come down." He finished, receiving nods from everyone in the group. Percy was off like a shot with Tony a few steps behind him, cursing the heaviness of his suit as he tried to run on the uneven ground.

If the old cavern was dark this one was pitch black. It was all Tony could do to keep from tripping over his own feet and he briefly wondered if it was worth risking their element of surprise to light his path. Percy seemed to have no trouble moving silently over the rugged floor and he made a mental note to ask the kid how he did it once they got out of there. He was so focused on his own feet that he didn't notice Percy stop running until he slammed into his back. After a short apology Percy shushed him. "Listen, do you hear that?" The kid asked.

Tony strained his ears but heard nothing but heavy breathing coming from the two of them. He was about to ask what in the world the kid was talking about when a faint 'Steve' floated down the echoing hallway. In a flash Tony spun on his heel and bolted in the opposite direction. He used his hand to light the cavern and picked up speed with Percy hot on his heels. Of course it would be the Captain, who had gone off on his own, who found something. Steve got to have all the fun.

They reached the doorway room in no time and Tony made a hard right to carry on down the middle path. He figured at this point the element of surprise was not on their side, what with Steve yelling his own name at full volume. He heard the clap of two more sets of feet on the ground as the spies joined in shortly behind Percy. Tony felt adrenaline rushing through his veins as he sped down the hallway to join Steve in battle. When a large opening came into view he pushed his legs even harder, feeling them burn with exertion.

He ran into the larger room, blasters up, ready for a fight. The sight that greeted him was not what he expected. The cavern was much grander than the others had been, with a high ceiling and carved stone floor. Familiar cells lined the walls, only this time children's faces looked out of them. The first thing Tony noticed about the kids was that they were dirty, like seriously dirty. Most of them looked like they hadn't bathed in weeks, with their hair tangled and their faces marred with soot. He counted four behind bars in total, all with the remnants of cuts and burns poking through their torn clothes. In the middle of the cave stood a short man with mousy brown hair, judging by the deranged look on his face and the gun in his hand this was Chad Sampson. He was holding the gun between the wild blonde ringlets of Annabeth's long hair, ensuring any bullet fired would go right through her head. Tony tightened his fists at the sight but what really made him angry was the blonde's appearance.

Annabeth looked as though she had been drugged, and by more than just chloroform. Her eyes had a hazy look to them and she seemed more afraid than Tony had ever seen her. Other than some bumps and scratches she looked unharmed but Tony knew how dangerous drugs could be. "Percy, please help me." The girl's voice stammered out, much weaker than her usual commanding tone.

"Annabeth," Percy responded, looking as if he wanted nothing more than to run Sampson into the ground. He held his place though, too afraid of what the lunatic might do if challenged. Tony looked back and forth between the couple and tried to see if he could blast Sampson without hitting Annabeth who was being used as a human shield. The girl in question let out another agonized scream, as though she was being tortured right then and there.

"I've given her something for recollection you see," said Sampson casually, as though he was offering them a biscuit. "Not all memories, only special ones. Painful ones. The ones that would be most unpleasant to live through again." He said with a smirk and Tony's fist clenched tighter against his side.

"Annabeth," Percy said in a much quieter tone that one might use with a frightened animal. "You're okay, we aren't there anymore." He said. Tony had no idea what the girl was reliving but if Percy's reaction was anything to go by, it wasn't good.

"Annabeth remember the good things we did okay. Think about the day we first met, when you nursed me back to health, and our first quest together. Think about our first kiss, and the first time I told you that I loved you. When you agreed to be my wife, the happiest moment that I can remember. I love you so much Annabeth, please come back to me." Percy said to her, love filling his calming words.

Annabeth's tortured face went slack and for a moment her eyes cleared. Tony saw the determination of the girl he had come to know and smiled momentarily before a loud grunt and a gunshot pierced the air.

"NO!" Cried Percy, as he and the rest of the team rushed forward. It was only when Tony saw Sampson on the ground clutching his stomach and Annabeth standing above him looking shaken but unharmed that Tony let out a sigh of relief. It was short lived as Annabeth collapsed into Percy's arms, her head dropping onto his shoulder. Percy gently stroked the hair out of her face and felt her neck for a pulse.

"She's okay, just the drug working its way through her system I think." Said Percy with a mix of relief and sadness over what was sure to be a hellish few hours for his girlfriend. Steve and Natasha worked on binding Sampson tightly so he wouldn't escape while Clint helped Tony blast off the cell locks encasing the young demigods. There were two boys, one who looked quite a bit like Annabeth and two girls. None were older than fifteen with the youngest being only eight. Percy seemed to know them all, both the kids in the orange and the purple t-shirts. They talked to him briefly and he promised to get them home which seemed to satisfy the kids. They looked exhausted and Tony decided that what they needed more than anything was a nice warm bath and a good long nap.

He and Clint helped them up through the cave and back down the rocky hallway. He had to individually fly each person through the hole he and the Cap had made back to the ground level, by which point Annabeth was shaking and letting out pained moans.

"I'm sorry Perce," said the blonde boy, Simon was his name. "He'd just gotten it new, never used it on anyone before. I don't know how long it will last."

Tony watched as Percy nodded sadly, cradling his weeping girlfriend in his arms. The kid looked almost as bad as Annabeth, as though her pain was connected to his somehow. Tony thought about Pepper and how much it hurt him to see her unhappy. His heart went out to Percy who couldn't do anything but watch as his girl was psychologically tortured.

"So," said Tony, trying to lighten to grim mood. "You guys must be pretty hungry. Back at my tower we can make anything your little godly hearts desire. What are kids in to now a days? Pizza? Mac and cheese?" He asked, looking between each tired child. The youngest of the bunch, a girl in a purple t-shirt replied to him. "Can you guys make tacos? I've really missed them. Or maybe ice cream, if you have it that is. Oh! Do you have any waffles? Or a waffle maker, I know a great recipe!" She rambled on. Tony smiled and raised an eyebrow at the young girl.

"Do I have a waffle maker? Kid do you know who I am?" He asked, eliciting a large grin from the girl in return.

He talked with the kid who he learned was named Fiona, Daughter of Apollo. She was eight years old and had been on her very first quest when she was captured by Sampson. She seemed furious to be taken away from what she assured Tony was an important task. Apparently one of her older brothers was driving their father's chariot while he was on holiday and had wreaked quite a bit of havoc. She was attempting to throw the police off his trail and convince them that the words 'I'm the king of the world' had been scorched into a farmer's field by teenage hooligans. She pointed out that it wasn't exactly a lie as her brother was a teenager and the definition of a hooligan. By the end of her story Tony's stomach hurt from laughing and he marvelled at how resilient the demigods were.

He was growing quite fond of the lot of them and Tony found himself hoping that even once this mission was over, they might decide to stick around.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Natasha

The return trip to Stark tower went smoothly enough and true to his word Tony cooked up a feast for the young demigods. Pepper had fussed over the kids and found them some oversized clothes for them to change into after each one got a medical check and a long shower. Percy tended to Annabeth who lay on the couch in the common area, something Natasha was ultimately grateful for.

She had grown to like the kids who were helping them out and she was happy to keep a watchful eye on the two teens. By the time Tony was finished with his cooking the table was crowded with food of all sorts. He had gone all out with mashed potatoes, pasta, tacos much to the joy of Fiona and every other food a kid could want. Natasha rolled her eyes at Clint who seemed just as excited as the young demigods for the feast. Even Annabeth made it to the table, looking a bit more pale than usual but all together unhurt. She seemed more on edge than the rest of the kids, as did her brother and Natasha watched the two share an unspoken conversation that ended with a curt nod from Annabeth.

'Later' she saw the boy mouth to his older sister and Natasha wondered what the two were discussing. Whatever it was, it didn't seem good. Putting her suspicions aside for the moment as they all sat down to eat Natasha was reminded of the family dinners that she always saw in the movies. The group was rowdy and loud but there was a pleasant atmosphere and the sound of laughter filled the air. Even the stoic spy felt the tug of a smile on her lips as she listened to Fiona spout a poem about their journey as the other demigods groaned.

"Honestly you're worse than your dad sometimes!" Said Percy to the girl, taking a large sip of his blue raspberry soda. "At least she's not into limericks anymore, Gods wasn't that a terrible phase," teased one of the other boys. He had been in a purple shirt which she assumed meant that he knew Fiona from their base. He had introduced himself as Derek, Son of Venus which Natasha had recognized as the Goddess of love. After bathing she noticed that the boy was way too attractive to be fifteen years old. His skin glowed like a cover girl model and his wavy blonde hair seemed to shine when it hit the lights. His hazel eyes and charming grin had Natasha internally smacking herself for momentarily being attracted to a fifteen year old so she avoided his gaze after that.

The last kid was one of the orange shirts, she seemed to know Percy and Annabeth pretty well. She had introduced herself as Nellie, Daughter of Ares. Natasha almost laughed at how terribly the old timey name suited the girl. At just ten years old she seemed to have all the anger of Nick Fury squashed into her tiny body. She was far too muscular for her age and Natasha noted her resting face as something along the lines of 'I will smack you if you touch me.' She was fiercely protective of the other demigods they had found in the cave, even if she tried not to show it. Natasha had a funny feeling that Nellie cared more about her companions than she would readily admit.

The evening passed quite happily with Tony and Fiona entertaining the group. It wasn't until dessert was long gone and the candles flickered dimly that Annabeth spoke. She had been relatively quiet during the dinner but everyone had chalked that up to being tortured just hours before. When she made eye contact with her brother though Natasha thought that something else might be amiss.

"I've been thinking," she began, shooting another glance in Simon's direction. "Well, we've been thinking," Simon smiled at the inclusion and set down his glass. "We don't think that Sampson was working alone." Stated Annabeth, looking around the table at each person in turn. "The preparation that would be required as well as the funding, it just doesn't make sense that he was the mastermind. Plus he had very little scientific knowledge, I doubt he would have been able to pull this off on his own." She finished with a sigh, knowing the implications of what she had told them.

"You mean to tell me that someone else is behind this? Sampson was just an errand boy?" Asked Steve in a serious tone. Annabeth nodded sadly, grabbing Percy's hand under the table. Natasha thought through what they were suggesting and realized that the kids were right. How she could have missed such obvious discrepancies was beyond her and she mentally kicked herself.

"So what do we do now?" Asked Fiona. "How do we track down who's really behind this?"

"I'm sorry," said Pepper sternly, "but we aren't doing anything. It's bad enough having those two involved," she said pointing at Annabeth and Percy across the table. "I am not putting four children at risk, especially not after what you've already been through. We are sending you home tomorrow and you better stay there you hear me?" She said. Natasha was reminded of a mother scolding her children and she smirked at her friend's protectiveness. The kids didn't look happy but they all reluctantly nodded after Percy promised to keep them in the loop.

"As much as I'd love to start digging we don't really have any leads," said Annabeth tiredly. "I think it's best if we all get a good night's sleep and start again in the morning." She finished and the group nodded. After helping Tony and Pepper clean up Natasha made her way to her bedroom, feeling the exhaustion from the day take over. She would try to get a full night's sleep, she had a sinking feeling that Sampson was just the beginning.

* * *

Percy

Percy was awoken to an all too familiar whimpering coming from his sleeping girlfriend. He had worried that she would be plagued with more nightmares than usual after what she had been through. He gently shook her, trying to wake her up without scaring her more than necessary. "Percy," she mumbled in her sleep, "please Percy wake up, I need you to wake up, don't leave me." She said in a clearer tone, a tear rolling down her cheek. Percy put a hand on her sweaty forehead and repeated her name over and over, trying to reassure her that he was there and most certainly not dead.

Annabeth awoke suddenly and shot up so fast that Percy barely got his head out of her way. The moment she saw him sitting next to her she flung her arms around his neck and began to sob into his t-shirt. He rubbed her back in soothing circles and whispered reassurances in her ear for what felt like hours before she calmed down. He helped Annabeth out of bed and down the hall towards the kitchen. He figured a nice cup of tea and whatever junk food Tony had in stock would distract her as well as anything would.

Percy was surprised to find the kitchen already well lit and the soft murmur of voices floating through the morning air. Upon arrival he saw the contrasting forms of Tony and Fiona sitting at the kitchen table, each with a mug in front of them and a plate of oreos. Fiona's head turned at the sound of their footsteps and Tony followed suit to take in the tired couple in the doorway. "We should really start a club," said Fiona as she pulled out chairs for Percy and Annabeth. "What, the nightmare crew?" Said Percy with a slight laugh as he lowered Annabeth gently into one of the chairs. Tony was by the stove preparing what looked like two packages of hot chocolate. Percy sat down and grabbed a cookie from the plate as he wondered what dream had brought the billionaire out so late at night.

Percy stroked Annabeth's hair gently and was relieved to see her face returning to its normal colour. He nodded his thanks when Tony sat two mugs in front of them and Percy took a sip of the steaming drink. The chocolaty taste made him smile and he felt his shoulders release a bit of the tension they had held ever since Annabeth had been taken. She had her nose buried in her mug, taking in the comforting warmth and the overwhelming smell of sweets. Percy figured it was replacing the putrid smell of death that always worked its way into his dreams of Tartarus.

"Anyone want to talk about it?" Asked Fiona kindly from across the table. "My dad always says writing a good poem solves a lot of problems."

Percy groaned quietly but was happy to hear Annabeth snort from beside him. Not for the first time he marvelled at how strong his girlfriend was. To Percy's surprise Annabeth opened her mouth first, pausing to sort out what she wanted to say.

"I was back in the underworld." She started slowly, as if debating whether she really wanted to discuss it or not. "I was trapped, I couldn't move, and the smell, it was so real." She continued as Percy grabbed her hand and ran soothing circles over her knuckles. "Percy was hurt, he was dying and there was nothing I could do. I tried so hard to get to him but something was blocking me and I just sat there and watched as he bled out." She said, her voice slightly hoarse towards the end, as if she were trying hard not to cry. "I know it's stupid cause you can't really bleed out in Tartarus but it just felt so real in the moment." She finished, her head down and decidedly not meeting anyone's eyes.

Percy was about to interject, saying that whether it was real or not didn't make it any less legitimate. Tony beat him to it though, surprising him and apparently the two girls as well.

"Sometimes it doesn't matter if it happened or not, it's just the worst scenario you can imagine and your mind runs with it." He said sadly, as if he had experience with the situation. Annabeth looked up and seemed to study the billionaire for a moment before she nodded slowly and a small smile broke out on her face.

"I um –" started Tony, clearly uncomfortable discussing his own dream. "I was kidnapped a few years ago, I still have dreams about it sometimes." He said, looking rather ashamed of the fact that the memory still plagued him. Fiona smiled in Tony's direction, "At least you guys are dreaming about real events." She said, as if laughing at herself for whatever ridiculous dream had woken her.

"I get scared for my family," she said with a roll of her eyes that made Percy raise his eyebrows at her nonchalant attitude. "My mom and grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins you name it. They're all mortals and I have dreams of the monsters getting them before I can help." She said as if it were the most ridiculous thing she'd ever heard.

Annabeth sighed quietly next to him. "Don't worry kid, we all get those sometimes. It just means that you love them, nothing wrong with that." She finished with a smile in Fiona's direction. After a moment of pause all eyes turned to Percy. He hadn't actually been woken by a nightmare but given that they'd all shared he felt compelled to say something.

"I dream about all kinds of stuff really," he said, trying to pinpoint a dream that wasn't too horrible to share. His mind ran through all his life experiences and he realized that most of them would at least qualify as bad if not horrible. Eventually he decided on one dream that he had been having recently, one he hadn't even told Annabeth about yet.

"I have dreams about the future sometimes," he said with a slight smile. "When we're done with all the wars and we can just live together in New Rome," he said throwing a smile at Annabeth. "We have a house and kids and everything is perfect," he said, pausing to take a breath as the dream came to the forefront of his mind. "Until something bad happens, you know any form of world destroying event." He said with a slight wave of his arms marvelling at how many of those he'd been personally involved in. "And I lose everything." He finished quietly, not quite ready to voice any more on the subject. He noticed that Annabeth was now the one rubbing circles on the back of his hand. He smiled at her and noticed the watery glaze on her eyes at the thought of him dreaming of their future.

"Well shit," said Tony from the other side of the table. Percy and Annabeth turned back to the billionaire with a slight chuckle. "Pardon my French," Tony said to Fiona and she nodded, grinning in response. "I thought I had issues but man you guys have got me topped." He said, raising his hot chocolate mug as if to toast them. He took a long swig and when he lowered the glass he was smiling a devilish grin that could only mean mischief.

"What do you kiddies say to a little late night pranking session?" He asked, turning to lock eyes with each of the three demigods. Percy and Annabeth shared a look and agreed that they could use some fun and Tony seemed harmless enough. They nodded towards him in response and Fiona quickly agreed as well. The four of them spent the next four hours carefully planning and executing what Percy thought must have been the best prank he had seen since the Stoll brothers incident with the giant squid.

When the morning sun rose and covered the hardwood floors in a golden sheen the four of them were exhausted but happy. Their dreams were long since forgotten and each demigod and avenger was in their designated place. Poor Steve was the first to wake and experience what Tony had deemed 'operation oreo.'

Percy had to admit that by the time the mixture of shaving cream, bubble bath and cookie crumbs had settled on a flabbergasted Steve he did look quite a bit like an oreo. The poor soldier stood in place for a full fifteen seconds before looking wildly around for the culprit, who was nowhere to be found. Percy watched, stifling his giggles from his place in the vents. He smiled, thinking that if they ended up staying for a while the four of them could give the Stolls a run for their money.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Tony

A week had gone by and the team still had nothing to show for it. The kids had gone back to their respective camps, save for Percy and Annabeth. Tony was beginning to wonder if the blonde had been correct when she suggested a higher authority orchestrating the kidnappings. She was smart, even Tony would admit that, but they hadn't found any evidence of another person giving orders to Sampson.

Tony had Jarvis running background on each kid, their family, friends and anyone else who might have had a grudge against them. He had done the same with Sampson on day one and hadn't had any success. He had even tried to find conspiracy theorists who might be a little too close to the truth about demigods. Although there were some entertaining candidates, none of them screamed dangerous.

The rest of the team seemed as frustrated as Tony with the lack of progress and he had decided that they should take a break for the night. Looking around Tony had to smile at the sight of his team. Although they had gotten off to a bit of a rocky start with the teenagers they had settled in to the team remarkably well. Annabeth and Steve were in the kitchen, jokingly arguing over the correct ratio of garlic to bread as they made dinner for the rest of the avengers. Percy was sitting on one of the couches recounting a story to Bruce and Clint that had the two of them laughing like idiots. Natasha, who was reading a novel in the armchair threw in a smile every few minutes that told Tony she too was listening.

Tony himself was massaging the shoulders of his wonderful girlfriend Pepper. She was sitting at the kitchen table with her laptop and no fewer than three phones in front of her. CEO of Stark Industries had never seemed like such a big commitment when Tony had done it but he supposed she was doing a much more thorough job. He was happy to be the doting boyfriend slash genius and let her be the face of the company.

The team had made it half way through their pasta dinner when a familiar face appeared in mid-air over Natasha's shoulder. "Come to us with another prophecy kid?" He asked, making the rest of the table look towards the iris message. Hazel smiled nervously and glanced to her side, clearly looking at someone they couldn't see. Tony frowned in confusion, he knew that the camp was supposedly safe and there shouldn't be any threats inside their border. Why was Hazel so nervous then, she looked like she was about to break bad news.

"Annabeth, there's uh, someone here who wants to see you." Said Hazel, eyes flying back and forth between Annabeth and the mystery person. If Tony weren't so worried he would likely find it funny. He heard muttering coming from the message and saw Hazel say something to the person about mortals.

Her words were cut short however when a striking woman stepped into the frame. Her eyes were grey as a stormy sky and long hair flowed down to her waist. She was dressed in pure white robes, donned with grey armour that looked somehow ancient and brand new all at once. It was the power that radiated off her that clued Tony in to who this must be, even through the message he could tell this woman was not to be messed with.

Annabeth and Percy quickly bowed to the woman and the rest of the avengers plus Pepper followed a moment later. Some exchanged confused looks, but Tony was too focused on the woman to notice much else.

"Mother," said Annabeth, sounding much more composed than Tony could have been at that moment. "Always a pleasure to see you."

The goddess smiled, but it did nothing to make her any less terrifying to Tony. "I've been watching your endeavors over the past month my child," said Athena to Annabeth. Tony noted that the goddess was pointedly ignoring Percy. Even in the world of the Gods the teenage boyfriend was disliked by the girlfriend's parents.

"The item that the mortal was seeking, it is real." Said Athena, straight to the point which Tony appreciated. "I have not seen nor heard of it in a thousand years," said the goddess, but rather than nostalgic her voice carried an air of caution. "Perhaps you'll have heard the story of my son Cynaegirus?" Said Athena, receiving confused looks from everyone except her daughter.

"Cynaegirus was a Greek General," said Annabeth slowly, trying to remember the story. "He fought to protect Athens against the Persian army in the Battle of Marathon. His army was much smaller but they managed to push out the Persians and they fled to their ships. He wasn't done though, pursued them trying to take out their leader. He held on to the mast of a Persian ship with his bare hands until a Persian soldier cut them off. He died of blood loss if I remember correctly." Said Annabeth, leaving Tony shaking his head at the man's brave stupidity. He may have been called impulsive before but Tony had nothing on this Cynaegirus guy.

"Indeed," said Athena with a small smile, seemingly proud of her son's devotion to the battle. "I was impressed with his gumption, even if his brashness got him killed." She said with surprising nonchalance considering she was talking about her own son. "That was not the end of the story though," said the Goddess and Tony's ears perked up again. "He had a lover, a smart woman who I was actually rather fond of. She was a mortal, but a good one at that. She could fight as well as any man and she was not going to let his death go unavenged." Said Athena. "The leader of the Persian army was a rather annoying son of my brother Ares. He was insufferable and I can't deny I was hoping he would parish during battle." At this Tony smirked a little, though he hid it behind his fist. The woman was as blunt as she was powerful and Tony was starting to like her more and more.

"In order to level the playing field so to speak I turned the last part of my son into a weapon. Something that could remove a demigod's power and transfer it to another. I gave his lover the weapon in hopes that she would defeat the son of Ares, and defeat him she did. It was quite the battle to have watched, though looking back I could have chosen something less bloody to host my gift." She said thoughtfully and Tony wondered what exactly she meant by that. "Take it from a Goddess, hands are not the easiest to work with. I had to preserve one of the bones just so my gift wouldn't turn to dust before my very eyes." Said Athena, as though that was a normal inconvenience that they'd all understand.

"You used your son's hands for your weapon?" Asked Tony incredulously, not particularly caring if he was being rude. This lady might be a Goddess but he was Tony Stark and nobody intimidated him. "Wasn't that a bit," he paused, looking for the right word, "gross?" He finished lamely.

Athena laughed much to the team's relief, she seemed to find Tony amusing rather than unforgivably rude. "The decomposition would have been unpleasant but I assure you the bone I preserved is quite clean now." She said and Tony nodded thoughtfully. "I haven't seen it in centuries, but I'm sure this is the weapon your enemy is searching for."

The team nodded, thinking that Athena was on to something. "The last I've heard, it was used in the Battle of Wilson's Creek in Missouri." Said the Goddess. Steve jumped in next, much to the surprise of the rest of the team. "The Battle of Wilson's Creek was in the civil war wasn't it?" He asked, receiving hesitant nods from the rest of the avengers. If anyone knew their American history it would be Steve. Athena nodded as well and smiled at him. "A man who knows his history knows his future Mr. Rogers. Only when the past is forgotten is it truly lost."

Steve smiled awkwardly, clearly not knowing how to respond to the Goddess's profound musings. "You think we should look for this bone-weapon thing near Wilson's Creek?" Tony asked the Goddess who gave him a firm nod.

"That would be my advice," she stated. "Now it is time for me to return to Olympus, best of luck to you all. Farewell, my child." She said to Annabeth as Athena used an armour-clad arm to wipe away the message. The team was immediately in discussion about the new information they had been given. When the dinner had finally finished they had decided to leave at first light for Missouri and see what they could find there. Whether another criminal mastermind was looking for it or not, this weapon seemed like it could cause a lot of trouble in the wrong hands.

It was with that thought that Tony made his way up to bed with Pepper by his side. He wondered how many demigod weapons there were in the world that he had no idea about. Maybe he could get one of the kids to help him upgrade his suits with more godly aspects. Tony fell asleep to the thoughts of celestial bronze cannon blaster arms and the image of him riding into battle on a mechanical Pegasus.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Natasha

The plane ride to Wilson's Creek was bumpier than Natasha would have liked. Clint was an excellent pilot but the storm they had been caught up in was intense to say the least. Percy looked an absolute wreck, the kid was sweating profusely and clutching Annabeth's hand like it was a lifeline. He had explained that the God of the sky wasn't very fond of him and the storm was most likely Zeus' doing. Although the God had promised not to blast them out of the sky there didn't seem to be any rules against taking them down the old fashioned way.

Natasha pitied the kid, she knew what it was like to have your fears shoved down your throat. It was a popular technique at the Red Room. The minute her handlers discovered her fear or fire it was everywhere she went. They claimed it was training to desensitize her but Natasha suspected they just loved to watch the terror in her eyes. From cigarettes to burning buildings she had faced every manifestation her fear could take on, but never in front of her friends or teammates. Percy was beyond his pride at this point, visibly shaking and muttering something about surviving if he jumped into water. Natasha decided to distract him in a rare offering of personal information.

"I'm sure you two heard about the battle of New York, aliens and all that." She said, trying to make it sound nonchalant although it wasn't exactly a normal start to a conversation.

Percy just looked up queasily but Annabeth nodded. "We were fighting there as well at the time, but a different army than you were."

This made Natasha frown, they had been all over New York that day and hadn't seen any other fights. Steve jumped in, clearly thinking along the same lines she was.

"How come we didn't notice? Was it only you two?" He asked Annabeth who shook her head sadly.

"We had a whole army there, the fight went on for days. Remember when we told you about the titans?" She asked and Natasha thought back to their previous conversation and nodded along with Steve.

"Well Kronos, the one who isn't too fond of Percy, can control time. He slowed everything down while Morpheus put all the mortals to sleep. You probably didn't even realize that the battle had been fought, to you it would have only felt like a few minutes." She finished and Natasha exchanged an exasperated look with Steve. She wondered how many things in this world were happening without her knowledge. She used to think S.H.I.E.L.D. held all of humanities secrets but they barely scratched the surface.

"What are the odds of that, huh? We're fighting Loki and at the same time you guys are fighting the Titans in the same city?" Said Steve.

"Did you say Loki?" Asked Annabeth curiously. "Like the Norse God of Mischief?"

Natasha and Steve nodded in unison. "He thought humans were primitive and needed someone to lead them. Even generous enough to offer his services." Tony interjected as he got up from the co-pilot's chair and walked towards them. "We're nearly there, Legolas is just finding somewhere to put the plane down then we'll be in business."

The rest of the team nodded and began to suit up. Natasha glanced at Percy who seemed thrilled to be getting off the plane. She wondered if it could really be a coincidence that they had fought a battle at the exact same time in the exact same place. She had been in the business long enough to know that coincidences didn't really exist. Whatever the connection was, she was determined to figure it out.

* * *

Percy

The moment the plane door opened Percy jumped to the safety of the grass below. His hands were still shaking from the trip but he felt much better being back on land. The rest of the group followed his decent and soon they were taking in the large field Clint had landed in. With all the excitement of a new lead Percy had expected something more ominous. The sight before him was rather underwhelming.

He lead the group towards the edge of the forest, scouring the ground for clues as to where the weapon might be hidden. Trust Athena to make it something tiny and impossible to find. As he traipsed through the long grass a cold wind hit him, seeming to pass right into his soul. He turned back to Annabeth who looked equally as uncomfortable. It was a familiar feeling, one they had experienced over and over again during their stint in Tartarus.

"Did anyone else feel it get cold all of the sudden?" Asked Steve, receiving a collective nod from the group.

"You don't think it could be-" Percy asked Annabeth, dreading the response he knew was coming.

"It would be just our luck for it to be hidden there." She replied.

"You two want to tell us what's going on?" Asked Tony, he never liked to be left out.

With a deep sigh Annabeth explained their revelation to the rest of the team. None of them looked thrilled at the prospect of going to Tartarus, but Percy was pondering a new problem. As far as he knew there were very few entrances to the underworld and Wilson's Creek was not one of them. By the look of deep thought on Annabeth's face she was wondering the same thing.

"We're going to have to judge by feel," said Annabeth, seemingly piecing together a plan. "Everyone walk around this area and if you can feel the cold getting stronger let us know."

The team responded with a nod and began pacing in various directions. Percy closed his eyes and tried to keep his mind occupied in the present. It would do them no good to have him lost in a flashback during the battle that was sure to come.

Hours past with no progress and Percy began to wonder if what they were attempting would ever work. He sat down on a rock beside Steve who was still combing the ground for a clue. Percy thought about dozing off for a moment and had decided a nap was just what he needed.

He rested his chin on his hand and closed his eyes lazily.

He was jerked awake when he began to fall. The rock he was sitting on seemed to have disappeared completely, leaving a long downward tunnel in its place. His eyes flew open and his hands grabbed at dirt and stones as the small hole of blue sky began to shrink from above him. He wanted to scream but his lungs wouldn't cooperate, he thought he heard his name being called from the surface but that too began to fade as he accelerated downward.

For a brief moment he thought about the humor of the situation. They had searched all day for an entrance and he finds it the moment he decides to take a nap? It seemed like exactly the kind of cruel joke the Gods would play.

As he continued to fall Percy wondered if this would be how he met his end. Hitting the ground, wherever that was, at the speed he was going was sure to be deadly. Of all the things in his life to kill him he had hoped it might be something a bit more heroic.

He was surprised to feel himself slowing down, or at least he thought he was. It was difficult to judge the speed at which the dirt and rock flew by him but he was pretty sure it was slower than before. He could feel his body being surrounded by something soft, rather like a pillow. He had to admit this was not what he had expected. His body came to a gradual stop, leaving him floating in mid-air near the ceiling of a cavern.

When his head stopped spinning Percy glanced over his shoulder to see what had caught him. His eyes were met with nothing but air and a ten foot drop to the stone floor. This cave was much nicer than the other they had been in though. A glowing pool of purple water stood out to him in the corner. Had he not been in such a predicament Percy may have wanted to go for a swim.

His eyes focused on the only other person in the room who had his arms raised above his head. As he brought them down to his side the magic that had caught Percy lowered him gently to the floor, allowing him to fall onto his back. He was once again thankful to be on solid ground, he had been airborne enough for that day.

The man who had caught him came into focus as he walked towards Percy. He had long, shiny black hair and skin that glowed white. He was dressed in robes of green and gold with shining armour to accompany the outfit. A little over the top of you asked Percy but he wasn't about to insult the man that had just saved his life.

"Uh, sorry to drop in like this." Said Percy, inwardly cursing himself over the stupid introduction.

The man laughed, but it sounded more menacing than joyful. Percy slid his hand into his pocket and lightly clutched Riptide.

"Welcome Mr. Jackson, I've been eager to meet you." He said with a smile and an air of superiority.

"I am Loki of Asgard, I'm sure you've heard of me."


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Annabeth

Annabeth was just about done with Wilson's Creek and with her boyfriend. Logically she knew it wasn't his fault that he got kidnapped or injured all the time but that didn't make her worry any less. She was currently taking out her frustrations on the rock Percy had been sitting on before he disappeared into the earth.

The thing had reappeared as quickly as it had vanished leaving the team stranded on the surface. Steve was pacing the grass into the ground with worry while Tony tried to come up with a way to physically move the rock. She had resorted to sitting on it in every imaginable position to trigger whatever Percy had done before. So far nothing had worked.

Nothing about the rock looked particularly special, no markings or discolourations to tell her what to do. Annabeth was starting to side with Tony's idea to band together and try to move it over. It wasn't her usual style, she preferred to solve riddles with her mind instead of brute force but desperate times called for desperate measures.

She conveyed her decision to the others, earning a smug grin from Tony that was quickly replaced by a look of determination. The avengers surrounded the boulder and started lifting with everything they had. Though Clint would argue otherwise it was really only Tony and Steve who accomplished anything. With a great effort they lifted the rock and set it to the side, leaving a gaping hole below.

Annabeth ignored the strain in her muscles from the heavy lifting and ran to the entrance of the tunnel. She peered down and frowned at the blackness that met her eyes. The hole was deep, a farther drop than one would normally survive. She called Percy's name and was met with an echo of her voice floating back towards her. She felt lost, not knowing whether he had died from his fall or from whatever was down there.

Her ears perked up as her boyfriend's distinctive voice floated to the surface of the hole. It was faint but he was clearly shouting 'Annabeth' in response. That was all she needed to spur her into action.

Annabeth turned back to the group and relayed her plan. It was thrown together quickly but she was happy with the outcome. The rest of the team agreed and moved into their positions. She wrapped an arm around Tony who made a lewd comment that made her roll her eyes up at him. She hated how much taller than her he was when he wore his suit.

With a farewell salute from Tony to the team the two of them jumped into the tunnel below. Tony's blasters kept the pair afloat but they were squished in the small tunnel. She tried to focus on the walls flying by rather than the firey substance inches from her legs. Tony was saying something to her but the wind rushed past her ears and she couldn't make it out.

She frowned at him but couldn't make out any facial expressions due to his mask. His arm blasters stopped for a moment, leaving her confused but relieved. The pair started to fall faster than before, leaving Annabeth debating which scenario was worse. Her legs getting burned off would be unfortunate but she'd survive at least, a fall from this height would probably kill her. She was even more confused when Tony grabbed her legs under the knee and wrapped them around his waist. For a moment she considered hitting him, even if the suit would protect him she'd do it for principle. Once he moved his arms back down to his sides and restarted the blasters she understood his plan. Her legs were now out of the line of fire, however much she disliked it. The things she did for love.

The rest of the ride down went smoothly. By the time they entered the cave at the bottom of the tunnel Annabeth had decided she had seen enough of the underground world for a lifetime. Her eyes immediately found her boyfriend and she sighed with relief. He looked dirty, but unharmed. She scanned the rest of the cavern and noted that it was much fancier than the others they had been in. The walls were carved in Ancient Greek, and torches illuminated the grand ceiling.

Tony set her down and quickly moved his hands to an attacking position. She didn't see the threat he had but she grabbed her dagger and moved to her fighting stance. She found the man Tony had seen, he was encased in shadow but he moved forward into the glow of a torchlight. His face might have been handsome if it weren't marred by the disgusting smirk he wore. Annabeth could already tell she didn't like him.

Her eyes flickered back and forth in search of Percy but she couldn't make out his shape amongst the shadows. She wanted to just kill the bastard behind all this and get it over with, but in true hero fashion Tony started a conversation with the man. Annabeth was convinced this was the result of some movie inspired phenomenon that made everyone think each battle needed a full three-act prelude.

"If it isn't the chairman of the dark and broody club," said Tony, causing both Annabeth and the man to roll their eyes. Tony's assessment wasn't too far off though, the man's face could only be described as brooding.

"The Man of Iron, back to face me again. You could never manage it alone though could you? Always looking to your friends for help." Said broody. If the avengers had faced him before, maybe this was Loki, the man she had been told about.

"What do you want with Percy?" She asked in what she hoped was a detached tone. The man laughed, "you're really not as smart as you think you are if you can't figure that one out." He said, causing Annabeth's frown to deepen.

"So what? Your plan is to find this weapon and drain Percy of his powers so you can use them yourself?" She asked. "Why wouldn't you just target a place with a high concentration of demigods? What makes Percy so special?"

This earned a smug grin from the man, she had decided to call him Loki for the time being whether her hunch was correct or not. "You know for his girlfriend you certainly don't think there's much appeal to Percy." Said Loki with a chuckle.

Annabeth really didn't like this guy, first he insults her brain and now questions her love for Percy? He had to go.

"What do you want his powers for?" She asked, keeping her tone composed.

"If I told you where would be the element of surprise? No I think I'll keep that one to myself for now." He said. Loki abruptly turned around and started walking toward the back of the cave. Annabeth glanced at Tony, concerned this could be a trap. Surely nobody could be that stupid to turn their back on an armed enemy.

Tony was looking around the room, ignoring the man walking away from them. Annabeth trusted his instinct and followed suit, moving cautiously towards the shadows in search of…something. She wasn't quite sure what she was supposed to be looking for.

"He uses holograms," whispered Tony to her. "We have to find the real one, he has to be somewhere close."

She nodded and paced quietly toward what she thought was the edge of the cavern. It was too dark to make out a distinct wall so she put a hand out in front of her, hoping she wasn't walking directly to the enemy. Her ears perked up at a noise coming from a space a few feet in front of her. It didn't sound human, more like something whooshing past her. As she tentatively found the edge of the cave she put her ear to the cold stone. What she heard made her grin, rushing through the wall behind her was most definitely water.


End file.
